SEC chair tells House panel: ‘The markets are not rigged’

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By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White flatly rejected claims that retail investors are being fleeced by high-frequency traders who can use their speed to jump ahead with buy and sell orders that fetch better prices.

“The markets are not rigged,” White told a U.S. House of Representatives panel on Tuesday, in response to a blunt question from New Jersey Republican Congressman Scott Garrett.

“The U.S. markets are the strongest and most reliable in the world,” she added.

White’s comments to the House Financial Services Committee mark the first time she has directly responded to allegations in Michael Lewis’ new book Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt since its publication about a month ago.

In the book, Lewis claims that high-speed traders are engaged in a form of front-running, in which the firms are able to quickly identify an investor’s desire to buy a stock, rush to buy it first and then sell it back at a higher price.

The book has since prompted the FBI, the SEC, the U.S. attorney general and the New York state attorney general to disclose they are investigating potential abuses by high-speed traders.